The Troubles I'm Facing
by Percabeth95
Summary: After LO. When Percy is kidnapped and Annabeth must find him, the question is who? And why? But everyone will find out that there's a twist. PERCABETH!
1. Percy Goes Missing

**Ok, a very well placed review caused me to rethink a little bit and expand. (Thanks Zoe Nightshade) This is the edited and expanded version of my first chapter. I'm also re-editing my next chapter, but I won't update until I have 10 reviews!**

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It started like this.

On the last day of the semester, I was depressed. Yes, I know, winter break, holidays, fun. But Annabeth... I hadn't spoken to her since the end of camp. I had sent her any messages, because I thought she must have a reason for ignoring me. I mean, Annabeth's a reasonable person, right?

I walked into my living room, looked around, and had an idea. Paper and a pencil were on the table, I decided I was going to use them.

"Dear Annabeth—no, no—Hey Annabeth. Um, ok. So just to tell you, I'm saying what I think and not going back on it. Here goes. I...I don't know why you haven't written to me, or IM'd me, or called me. Did I do something to make you mad? Are you just busy? Has your mom forbidden you to talk to me or something? Please contact me as soon as you get this. Love—no, why the heck did I write that—From, Seaweed Brain, aka Percy Jackson." I collapsed on the couch.

Just then, my mom came in. "What's wrong, Percy?" She sounded like she thought I was sick. I pointed at my letter. She picked it up, confused. "What—?" As she read the letter, an expression of understanding came over her. With a big smile, she put the letter down and went to her room.

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I was so excited. Winter break had finally come! Everything was planned out. I would go to Olympus for a couple of days to check on the progress that had been made, then to camp for a day to see everyone there. After that, I was going home to San Fransisco for a week and a half.

Or so I thought.

"Ms. Chase?" My math teacher stopped me as I was leaving. I turned to her, surprised. "you have a phone call," she said, "from a Ms. Jackson." Oh my gods, Ms. Jackson! Something's happened to Percy!

"Where's the phone?" I spoke so urgently my teacher looked shocked.

"Um, right this way." As I walked a wave of emotions washed over me, with worry at the forefront. As soon as I saw the phone I ran to it.

"Hello?"

"Annabeth," Ms. Jackson said, "I need your help. Percy's missing."

I froze. "What are you talking about?" Then, "Percy?" I muttered, "He's such a Seaweed Brain, and now he's gone!" I didn't want to believe her. That Seaweed Brain had disappeared.

"He didn't come home from school yesterday, and I've looked every where that he might have gone. Except for camp, but that's why I need you. Maybe you can try to IM him, seeing as I can't."

"I'm coming straight to you place. Be there in ten minutes."

I left the building and hailed a taxi. As I rode, I thought about Percy's kidnapping. Who would have done it? Kronos was gone, the other titans were staying low, and enemy half-bloods that had survived knew better than to attempt anything, since their cause was lost. And why? Why would anyone want to kidnap Percy? It couldn't be a regular mortal, doing it for money, because the Jackson didn't have much. I decided to ask Percy more about it when I spoke with him, to see if he had any ideas.

Finally, the taxi pulled up in front of Percy's small house. I paid the driver and went to knock on the door. Ms. Jackson answered looking very concerned. "Annabeth, thank goodness you're here. Come on inside, I made some hot chocolate. I had to do something to calm my nerves."

"Thanks Ms. Jackson." I followed her inside and she gave me a cup of hot chocolate. I drank a sip, but my ADHD was kicking in and I wanted to get something done. "Do you have any clues as to where he might be?"

"No, only what I told you over the phone."

"Okay, well, let's set up an IM so I can talk to him." Ms. Jackson lead me over to the kitchen sink, which had a window behind it. I realized something. "Do you have any drachmas? Mine are in my suitcase."

"No, but Percy had some on his dresser. You can run get one."

I went toward Percy's room, but stopped just outside the door. After a moment of indecision, I opened the door and went in.

It was exactly as I would have expected. The walls showed the color of the sea on a blue day, and around the room I saw the Minotaur horn, a souvenir from Hoover Dam, and other various things Percy had found in his quests. I spotted the dresser, with a few drachmas on it, and went to get one. As I left, I looked down, and stopped when I saw my name. A letter was lying on the floor, addressed to me, so I picked it up.

_Hey Annabeth. _I almost frowned. He pretty much never just called me "Annabeth."

_Um, ok. So just to tell you, I'm saying what I think and not going back on it. _ Typical Seaweed Brain. Doesn't think before he speaks.

_Here goes. I...I don't know why you haven't written to me, or IM'd me, or called me. _(He stuttered on paper?) I began to realize what this was about.

_Did I do something to make you mad? _No, Seaweed Brain, it's all my fault.

_Has your mom forbidden you to talk to me or something? _No, but I was half expecting her to.

_Are you just busy?_ Well, yeah...but that was no excuse not to talk to my best friend! And now he was missing and I might never see him again!

_Please contact me as soon as you get this. _ You can be sure I will!

_From, Seaweed Brain, aka Percy Jackson_

As I finished it, I realized how upset I would be if I never saw Percy again. With all of the other campers that had gone over the summer, I had mourned, and then put them at the back of my mind, not to be forgotten, but not at the forefront of my thoughts. Without Percy, I would never be the same. He had helped me out when I had almost given up hope, whether it was four years ago when he got his quest, two years ago when I had been trapped under the sky and felt like I was going to die, last year when he saved me in the volcano, or even this past summer, helping immensely with defeating Kronos, as he held the spirit of a true leader. He was my best friend, and no one was going to keep me from him.

I looked over the letter again, and something caught my eye. Underneath the word "From," another word was imprinted, as though it had been written there, but then erased. I looked closer, trying to decipher it.

When I did, I almost fainted.

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**Ok, a little bit OOC, but we'll work on that! R&R PLEASE!**


	2. Percy Spills the Beans

**K, I forgot do do this last time.**

**I DONT OWN PJO OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS!  
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As soon as I realized what was going on, I chastised myself. _Calm down Annabeth. Get a grip. He erased it, didn't he? Plus, that's a typical end of letter thing, and he probably just didn't want to make things awkward. You're not like this, You don't _get _like this._ I looked up as Ms. Jackson walked in.

"Annabeth? Are you okay?" It just figures that Ms. Jackson would be worried about me when her son had been kidnapped and taken to Zeus knows where.

"Yeah, I'm coming." I set down the letter, but I thought I saw a hint of a smile cross Ms. Jackson's worried face when she saw it. "I... uh, I got distracted. Let's go." We went into the kitchen, and I watched silently as Ms. Jackson turned on the hot water to make the rainbow. I finally spoke. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering," I said, throwing the drachma into the rainbow. "Show me Percy Jackson." The mist shimmered and I saw Percy sitting on a bed messing around with Riptide. "Percy," I practically yelled, "where are you?" He looked up, surprised.

"Annabeth?" He smiled and my heart jumped. _What? What was that for?! You know you like him, but you're _not _like _that._ That's for the Aphrodite girls and...yeah. Just focus on the problem at hand._ "Thank goodness! Well, I'm not sure where I am, but I know a little bit. As I left school, Someone blindfolded me and tied my hands. They put me in a nice car from what I could tell and I was taken onto a boat for a while, then brought back onto dry land. But what's weird is, after I got off the boat, you know, I heard a helicopter land nearby, and I thought, 'Oh sod, the're going to make me fly!' But then I heard a girl whispering to someone a few feet away. I only heard one word. 'Sky.' After that, the helicopter left and I was put into another car. It was weird, almost like someone kn—" Annabeth cut him off.

"—knew you can't fly."

"Exactly. But anyway, right before we got off of the boat I checked my bearings, and we were on the coast outside Hampton, Virginia. So after about five minutes of driving on what felt like country roads, we got onto a highway, or at least that's what everything sounded like to me. We stayed on the highway for about 30 minutes. We had about ten minutes of country road after that, and then we stopped. I was taken inside a house, and since my hands were tied, someone loosened the rope just a little bit, like she wanted me to get out after she was gone, and—"

"She? How did you know?"

"Oh, uh..." He seemed embarrassed. "Well, when she loosened the rope, I mean...her hands...just...they touched mine, you know? I...I could just tell she was a girl."

"Right." I tried not to smile at the fact that the Seaweed Brain was embarrassed to tell me that another girl's hands had touched his. _Of course he was embarrassed, he loves you, remember?_ That stupid voice in my head was getting really annoying. _**Shut up!**_ "So, um, any clues?"

"Only that I have a refrigerator with food and stuff, and this morning, anything that I had taken yesterday was replaced." He laughed. "I guess they don't want me dead. Not yet, anyway."

"Percy, Annabeth," Ms. Jackson called from the other room, "look at this!" She brought us a map of Virginia printed off of Mapquest. "These are the most probable areas for you to be in." She had circled four neighborhoods near Richmond, Virginia.

"I have to go, then," I said urgently. I looked at Percy. "The sooner the better."

"Okay," Ms. Jackson replied, "Percy, maybe you should try your link with Grover—"

"No, It's really okay, I'll be fine. Bye Percy," I spoke softly. I kept looking at him as I did, then broke the connection.

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**OK, it was kinda short, but I'll make my next one longer! R&R PLEASE!**


	3. A Manticore Again

**Okay, so I accidentally put the wrong chapter title! XP If you read this the first time...well, now you've got a clue to what's coming next.**

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"Are you absolutely sure you don't want to call camp?" Ms. Jackson sounded worried, but I knew I'd be okay.

"Really, I wouldn't be able to consult the Oracle, and Chiron would just be worried about me." _Like you are._ "I'll be fine."

"Well, won't you at least take some drachmas so you can contact me?"

"Okay, but you do realize I will only be a few hours away?"

"Yes, but you never know, with you half-bloods a few hours can turn into two days."

I thought about that, just for a minute. "Alright, so if I'm not back by tomorrow I promise I'll message."

I said good-bye, ran outside immediately, and walked quickly to the bus station. The plan was, first I was going to take a bus to Philadelphia, then another one to DC, then another one to Richmond, VA, then a local bus to one of the areas Ms. Jackson had found.

Or so I thought.

When I got to the bus station, I thought I smelled something odd, maybe even monstrous. I decided to wait it out, see if anything happened. I scanned the loading area and noticed a suspicious man in a trench coat with the brim of a bowler hat pulled low over his forehead. He seemed familiar, but I just couldn't place him, so I just made sure I had my dagger and hat easily accessible. As I entered the bus I noticed the back of the bus had an emergency exit, so if I had to, I could get out that way. I waited for the very familiar man to find a seat, the placed myself between him and the exit.

The first thirty minutes of the ride were uneventful. I watched the man in the bowler hat, but he didn't speak or turn around. I decided to investigate, but I froze when he finally spoke. He had a french accent, and I recognized it. He was Dr. Thorn, a manticore! He had one blue eye and one brown one. He looked at me and said, "Hello, dear. May I join you?" I slipped on my Yankees cap and slid out of the seat into an empty row. Dr. Thorn stood and walked carefully and slowly towards me, not yet in his true form. I stood stock still, not wanting him to hear me. Slowly, I drew my dagger, and the manticore's eyes flickered in my direction. I slid slowly out of the row and towards the back exit. I had the feeling the manticore could sense me. _He must have gotten more powerful!_ I realized we were at a stoplight, and I threw open the emergency exit.

As I jumped out and ran, I could hear Dr. Thorn in close pursuit. I realized I couldn't run very much, or I'd be too tired to fight him. I dodged into an alley nearby. _I've got to make a plan!_ As I thought about it, I realized there was only one thing that I would be able to do now. I had to run!

The next time I got a chance to even think, I thanked Hermes for making me so swift-footed. I don't ever think I could have run that fast on my own. Chancing a look back, I realized that manticore must have lost track of me. I took a good look at my surroundings and felt some major deja-vu. I stood near the edge of a cliff, with a thick forest on my right side, and a manticore had been chasing me. I closed my eyes and thought back to that time two years ago when this very same manticore had thrown himself, while holding on to me, off of a cliff very similar to this one, so that he could get to Kronos, away from the Hunters.

My eyes snapped open. The Hunters! At first I thought that I was still in my imagination, because I could see Thalia emerging from the forest. _No, Thalia wasn't in the Hunters back then!_ Thalia's bow and arrow were trained on me, ready to shoot, but then she realized who I was. "Annabeth? Is that you?"

I laughed. "I sure hope so!" As I drew closer, I could see many young girls behind Thalia. As I looked around, I noticed a specific girl, of probably 11 or 12 years, one with auburn hair. She stood to Thalia's left. I recognized her almost immediately and bowed. "Lady Artemis."

"I see that we have found you on your search for your friend P—" The goddess was interrupted by Thalia's battle call.

"Hunters, to arms!"

I whirled around to see Dr. Thorn glaring at me. "I seek revenge on the girl whose knife destroyed my master!" He stood back, now in his true form, and slung some spikes from his tail toward me. When I deflected them quickly with my knife, he charged me, and dodged the few arrows that had flown before their mark. I readied my knife and pulled out my cap, but I heard a voice that made me pause.

"You won't take another step."

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**R&R Please! I'll probably update tomorrow!**


	4. A Hunter Gives Me Boy Advice

Artemis shot her bow and arrow swiftly and surely, and Dr. Thorn exploded into yellow dust all over me. I brushed it off quickly. "Thank you so much Lady Artemis, I—" She held up her hand and I paused.

"I would like to speak with you." I followed the goddess into her tent, and Thalia followed. "Annabeth, you would do well to be wary of Aphrodite. She likes to meddle in the lives of girls such as you." She was not angry, just... serene. "You have found yourself a man who will protect you, which at least, is the only kind of male worth anything. You would do well to find him, and this is why we will let you rest with us for a day, if you so wish."

"I... I would be honored, Lady Artemis."

"I believe that Thalia now wishes for you to accompany her.

"Yes ma'am." It felt weird saying "ma'am" to a twelve-year-old, but Thalia just dragged me to her tent right away.

Thalia asked, "What are you doing here?" I acted like I was offended.

"Well," I stepped back, "If you—"

"Of course I am glad you're here, I was just surprised. Alone, with a manticore chasing after you?"

"It's Percy," I stated blatantly.

"WHAT?" Thalia was getting mad. "What do you mean? Oh, that twerp—but you don't—"

"No, he's gone missing. I got some clues to where he probably is, so I'm trying to find him."

Thalia stared. "What are you—you're alone? Why?"

"Well, I couldn't consult really the Oracle—?

"Wha—why not?"

I sighed. This was going to take a while. "Well, you know how the Oracle used to be that mummy in the attic?" Thalia nodded. "Well, she didn't always used to be like that. She was a regular girl fifty or sixty years ago, but she got cursed so no one else could be the Oracle."

"So, what does this have to do with anything?"

"I was getting there. After the Second Titan War, the curse was lifted. The Oracle is now in a living girl, but she's been away at school. We do have clues as to where Percy may be, so I'm looking for him."

Thalia nodded. "But why you?" I knew that was coming. "Why didn't you contact Chiron or Grover. They could help!"

"Because... " I paused, not sure how to say it. "I think Percy may feel a little bit... betrayed, maybe, by me. Over this past summer, I spent lots of time hanging out with him, I actually kissed him on his birthday—" Thalia opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. "—but since the summer ended, I haven't talked to him. Literally, excluding yesterday's IM, I haven't talked to him once since I left Camp Half-blood."

Thalia looked pensive, then spoke, and I almost laughed at her words. "Well, why not?" Go Thalia, with the practical question.

"I don't know." I sighed. I hated it... not knowing, I mean. "I would start to try to IM him or something, but I would always have something come up. I mean, every holiday I was on Olympus, and practically every hour of the regular days I had mortals all around me. It was like I didn't have time for him, with everything else going on."

"Okay, so this is kind of weird," Thalia said, "I mean, a Hunter of Artemis giving you boy advice." I laughed at that. "But, seriously, here's what I think. I don't really think you're wanting to talk to him enough to make time to talk to him." This time, _I_ opened my mouth to interrupt, but thought better of it. "Talk to him, tell him what you told me, and you guys can work something out, like a compromise, to work with your busy schedule, maybe every two or three days you have a set time to IM him."

"But I don't really want to make a stupid schedule, I want to talk to Percy!" I practically whined it, and Thalia's hand flew to her open mouth in shock. I was shocked as much as she was. "Oh my gods, I don't have a clue where that came from." Thalia's shock wore away, to be replaced by a smirk, like she knew something I didn't. And I already told you how much I hate that.

"I think I do," she replied slyly, and then ran. I think she took it easy on me, but I was still out of breath when I caught her. She was slightly winded, but then she spoke words that didn't seem to be hers.

"It came from your heart."


	5. That Rachel Elizabeth Dare

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PJATO! If I did, I wouldn't be writing on this website!**

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"What do you mean?" I _was_ confused, but I don't think it was about what Thalia said.

"You love him. I can tell. Tell me if I'm wrong on any of these things. You would do almost anything for him. The reason you didn't used to get along with that mortal girl was because you thought she liked him, and that he liked her instead of you. You chose him over Luke. You kissed him on Mt. St. Helens because you thought you would never see him again and you wanted him to know how you felt." I stared at Thalia for a second.

"You know about Mt. St. Helens?"

"I have my ways. Anyway, I'm not done. You knew he wasn't dead when he was gone for those two weeks on Calypso's island," I froze, shocked, when she said that, "and you were dying, because you knew he was out there, somewhere without you."

"Calypso's island!" I yelled, because even though I had suspected this, hearing Thalia say it killed me all over again. "He had everyone thinking he had died because he wanted to spend some time with CALYPSO!? She—I always thought she was the stuff of legend, until that _Seaweed Brain_ showed up after two WEEKS looking in fine shape, even though he had been blasted out of a volcano! I knew something was going on. And he didn't tell me, which just makes it worse, I mean, why would he have to hide it?"

"Maybe he knew you would take it like this." Thalia looked calmer than I think I would ever have been in her situation, and it helped me calm down a little bit. "Look, Annabeth, I think he could have made better judgment, but the point of thinking about Calypso's island is that he _came back!_ He could have stayed there, immortal, without a care in the world. No prophecy, no war, just him and Calypso, forever on Ogygia. But did he choose that? No! And I have a very good feeling that I know why."

I looked at my feet. "Do you really think he came back for _me?_"

"I'm almost sure of it. Have you seen the way he looks at you? It's like he thinks you're the most valuable and precious thing in the world, and he would protect you with his life."

I wanted to yell at Thalia, but I stopped. _What's wrong with you?You know she's right!_ "Shut up," I muttered.

Thalia frowned. "You're not talking to me, are you?" I glared at her. What was making us so mad?

I looked around, and I remembered when I was twelve, and Percy started to act like this, because a certain war god had come into our presence. No sooner had I realized that, when someone came up to me out of nowhere. It was Ares. "What are you doing here?" I spoke angrily, but the war god didn't mind.

He smirked at me and spoke. "The lady sent me to give you a message." _"The lady?" Who does he refer to as "the lady?" Hera?_ Then it struck me.

"Aphrodite." _What does she want with me?_

Ares chuckled. "Yep."

"Well, what's the message already?" I was getting impatient to see what was so important that the love goddess Aphrodite would send her boyfriend to tell me.

"Just this: think mortal, and don't forget Percy's message." And with that he disappeared, to Olympus, I'm sure.

I pondered his words. What about Percy's message? _Think. She's the goddess of love._ Then it clicked. She was trying to tell me who that _girl_ was that helped kidnap Percy. _Mortal... a girl... knew about Zeus... mortal... girl... _ I froze. "Mortal Girl." Rachel. Oh, I was going to kill her.

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"O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me that Rachel Elizabeth Dare." After I spoke, the mist shimmered and I saw Rachel in a handstand painting on a canvas with her toes. It looked like she was in her own private art studio. I yelled, "You! Mortal girl!" She was startled, and when she fell, I smiled, almost laughing, I was so mad at her. I think some of Ares' power was still hanging around. But then Rachel jumped up and just smiled at me.

"Hey Annabeth! I thought you had stopped calling me that... oh, whatever. What's up?"

"What's up, you ask," I said, speaking slowly, through clenched teeth, "What's up!? Percy! He's missing, and I know as a fact, with knowledge gained from divine intervention, that you had something to do with it."

Rachel's smile faded. "You're very right. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it from you for very long. Now, why don't you tell me exactly what you are very right about."

I spoke with an air of knowledge, the one I knew so well. "You helped whoever that idiot was that kidnapped Percy, I mean, it would be easy for you, after all you're rich, you go to his school, he would believe what you say no matter what. You told the helicopter pilot that you didn't want Percy to have to travel by sky, because you knew that Zeus would strike him down without thinking. You... you were the girl that loosened his bonds just enough... did you know he was embarrassed by that?" I raised my voice, because she had just been nodding silently. "He didn't want another girl messing with him, you know why? Because he loves me, and..." Realizing what I had just said, I trailed off, watching Rachel's smile grow. A faint blush tickled my cheeks, but I continued softly. "...and you have taken him away from me. When I was taken from him two years ago, he went to the most dangerous place for half-bloods, snuck out on a quest that he wasn't allowed on, and _held up the sky_ for _me_. I know I would do as much and more for him. But now he's gone, and you're a part of it. Why? What's the point of taking him?"

Rachel sighed, then replied softly, "Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies Annabeth.**(A/N: Okay, I know that's from HP 5, I just had to put it in)** I'd love to tell you, but I can't. However, you'd best be glad that a certain goddess of love has decided to smile in your favor." Then she left.

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**R&R PLEASE!!!**


	6. A Trip to Olympus

**Okay I'm getting tired of saying this, so this is the last time. I DON'T OWN PJATO!**

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I wanted to hit something, and hit it hard. _How can she do that to me!? She _stole_ him! She's an evil, twisted little—_

"Annabeth?" Thalia interrupted my inner yelling, quietly and tentatively. I obviously looked quite outraged. "Um, who was that? Does she know—"

"She's the new Oracle, the _stupid_ mortal girl who helped kidnap Percy _and_ used to have a crush on him. We... didn't get along, you could say, for a while at least, but... after she became the Oracle, things... settled down between us. But she has not had to know what it's like when I get _really_ mad."

"And she will soon, I'm assuming?"

I nodded. "What I haven't been able to get though, are these last two things she said to me. 'Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies.' It sounds like she's not allowed to tell me anything, like she's not the main person behind the scenes." Thalia nodded, and she really looked like she agreed with me. "And the other thing, about Aphrodite..."

"You don't get that?" I shook my head, and honestly, I was pretty surprised that Thalia had figured something out before me. "She meant that Aphrodite has decided to help you out a little bit in the area of, well, you know, guys."

"Well," I grumbled, "I don't see how she's helping me now.

"Come on, Annabeth, think about it. Is she ever that straightforward with things? Whatever she does now will help you out in the long run."

"I guess you are ri—" I stopped. Hermes, god of messengers, had just appeared out of the forest behind Thalia. I addressed him reverently. "Lord Hermes." Thalia turned, and when she saw him, a bit of a sad look crossed her face. I knew she was remembering Luke.

"Hello, girls. I have a message for you, then I have to go." He handed me a letter, then disappeared.

I wondered who would have something so important to say to me that it couldn't be said over an IM, and Hermes needed to do the job. I looked down.

I recognized the handwriting on the letter. _Athena!_ I opened it slowly, as Thalia watched.

_To my daughter Annabeth:_

_You will be summoned to Olympus at exactly 7:00 concerning your work, or rather, lack of work. Please be ready._

_From Athena, goddess of wisdom._

I looked at Thalia. "Olympus! I'm supposed to be there right now overseeing the rebuilding, and right now, well, I'm not! What time is it?"

Thalia looked at the sun's position. "Six forty-five." I stared at her for a second, but hey! She was a hunter now. I sprang into action.

"What am I going to say? What am I going to do? Oh, I need to tell Ms Jackson!" I hurriedly set up a message. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering." I threw a drachma into the rainbow. "Show me Sally Jackson, 17 East 104th St." Ms. Jackson appeared in her kitchen, cooking something blue. "Oh my gods, Ms. Jackson, you'll never believe—"

She interrupted me. "Annabeth, calm down! I'll never believe what?"

I took a deep breath, then continued. "My mother wants to talk to me, on Olympus, in about five minutes."

Ms. Jackson's jaw dropped for a second, but she quickly recovered. "Do you know why?"

"The letter I got said it was concerning my work, so I'm assuming it's because I was supposed to go to Olympus today to help with the rebuilding, but my mom noticed my absence and realized that I went to look for Percy instead."

Ms. Jackson nodded. "So you don't think you'll make it to Percy tonight?"

"Very slight chances of that."

Thalia spoke quietly. "Six fifty-eight."

"I have to go, Ms. Jackson. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, bye Annabeth."

I broke the connection, and the next thing I knew, I was standing on top of Mount Olympus in front of a very angry goddess of wisdom and battle. "Annabeth Chase."

"Hello, Mother. How can I help you?."

"Why, my daughter, did you not come straight to Olympus seven hours ago? You were supposed to oversee further rebuilding of the monuments and such. The architects here are exceptional, but they need your hand to guide their work." In spite of the fact that she was mad, Athena had a faint note of pride in her voice as she spoke those words.

"As I believe you may already know, _Mother,_ my best friend Percy has been kidnapped."

"And?"

"_And,_ I'm not leaving him to his own simple devices to get out of there, the Seaweed Brain that he is."

"You are referring, then, to the son of Poseidon?" I nodded. "So then, you would postpone your important work for this son of my enemy who got himself kidnapped and into a big mess?"

I was getting upset by then. "Yes, mother, I would, as he did for me when I went missing two years ago. I would do anything for him, because..." I took a deep breath, "...because I love him."

Athena looked shocked for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. "I have allowed you to remain as simply friends with this boy because I believed that it would not do you any harm. Now, however, I am not as sure of it."

"You will not be able to keep me away from him, Mother. I love him, and you aren't going to be able to change that. I hope that no one will."

Athena pursed her lips. "I will postpone judgment, then, and if you two can prove to me the truth of what you have now spoken, I may approve of your... relationship."

I knew this was the best I was going to get. "Thank you, mother."

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**R&R!**


	7. Oh My Gods!

**Okay, half of this is just fluff, but the end is _very_ important.**

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_Percy's POV, right after the IM from Annabeth._

"Um, bye?" Annabeth just as good as hung up on me. I sat alone(Duh!) wondering what she had been thinking. Had she seen my embarrassment about that girl? _Of course she did, you know you're not very good at hiding those things, especially from her._ Did she realize how glad I was to see her? _Well, you had a big goofy grin on your face, so what do you think?_ She should have known I would be glad to see her, after all, it had been the first time in months! _Speaking of which, her birthday's coming up!_ I decided to think about that for now, do distract my self from...other things.

I laughed at myself. There I was, I'd been kidnapped, and I was planning my girlfriend's seventeenth birthday party. _(Insert squealing car brakes Sound FX)_

_WHOA!_ _Did I just say"girlfriend?" I meant "best friend." And I'm not even sure if she wants to be _that_ anymore. I mean, yeah, she kissed me, and I was going to ask her out soon, but if she hasn't _talked_ to me, she's probably mad._

Anyway, I was planning Annabeth's birthday party. A surprise, I might add. I grabbed some paper and a pen from a drawer and decided I needed to make some lists. First, who to invite.

_Thalia_

_Malcolm_

_Rachel_

_Grover_

_Juniper_

_Tyson_

Hmm... I'd have to work on that later. I had to think. _ What are we going to _do_?I mean, the party's going to stink if there aren't any plans! I need another list of what we can do._

_Movie?_

_Arcade?_

_Museum?(Annabeth would love it, everyone else would hate it)_

_Or, we could just hang around the house... Yeah, I think that's the best idea._

_So what are we going to do at home... We could:_

_Play Truth or Dare_

_Karaoke_

_Board games_

_Videos games_

_Probably a combination of the above._ Okay, so by then I was bored. I looked at the clock. "Six o' clock. Time for dinner!" I pulled out a plate and some leftover pizza, put the food in the microwave, then sat down to eat. Afterwards, realized I needed some rest. _Okay, time for a nap._ It seemed like I had barely closed my eyes when I saw a dream laid out in front of me. Annabeth was talking to her mom on Olympus. I trained my hearing in their direction.

"...You are referring, then, to the son of Poseidon?" I was shocked. They were talking about me! "So then, you would postpone your important work for this son of my enemy who got himself into kidnapped and into a big mess?"

Annabeth was visibly upset. "Yes, mother, I would, as he did for me when I went missing two years ago. I would do anything for him, because... because I love him."

I almost laughed, cried, and jumped for joy all at once when I heard that. _She loves me! Annabeth Minerva Chase, easily the most beautiful girl in the world, loves _me,_ Perseus Poseidon Jackson, Seaweed Brain, _ME! I thought there must be a catch, so I listened in again.

"You will not be able to keep me away from him, Mother," Annabeth declared, "I love him, and you aren't going to be able to change that. I hope that no one will."

I looked at Athena. She did not seem pleased with this turn of events. "I will postpone judgment, then," Athena decided, "and if you two can prove to me the truth of what you have now spoken, I may approve of your... relationship."

"Thank you, mother." Annabeth seemed pleased.

As soon as they were finished speaking, I woke up. I had to know if this dream had actually occurred, and there was a way to find out. I had a feeling that a _certain_ love goddess had had something to do with this.

"Aphrodite," I prayed quietly, and this was the first time I had ever prayed to her, "Can you help me out here?"

When I looked up, I saw Aphrodite, who looked stunning, as usual, but my reaction was not as starstruck as it had been the first time I met her. I had a feeling it had something to do with seeing Annabeth less than a minute before.

"Yes, Percy, what do you need?" I had almost forgotten why a had prayed to her, though the forgetfulness was not due to Aphrodite herself.

"Was... did my dream really happen? With Annabeth, you know?"

Aphrodite studied her nails for a minute, then did something to her hair. "One second Percy. Can you hold this mirror for me?" I was reminded of that time two years ago when she had sought me out to talk about, yes, you guessed it, Annabeth.

I held the mirror for a few minutes, then put it down when Aphrodite was finally finished. "Well, Percy, I _did_ have something to do with your dream. What do you think?"

I looked at her questioningly, and she nodded encouragingly. I couldn't believe it. I was practically in shock. I vaguely remember saying good-bye to the goddess.

_She stood up to her _mom_ for me. She told Athena that nothing would keep her from coming to me. She really_ does_ love me!_ I sat on my bed, dazed, and had the sudden urge to IM Annabeth when I realized I didn't have any drachmas. When I looked around just in case, I spotted a drawer that I hadn't seen before. I opened it.

_Drachmas!_

I set up an IM and called to Annabeth. She turned and saw me, and neither of us could keep the smiles off of our faces. She came up to the message, surprised.

"Seaweed Brain! What are you—"

"Annabeth," I cut in, "I had a dream. I... I saw you talking to your mom."

She blushed. "Do—could you hear us?"

I nodded. "Is it true, then?" She stared for a second, then did something I didn't expect.

She started crying. "Yes, Percy, and I'm so sorry that I haven't talked to you. I let myself get so busy, I didn't have any 'me' time. Or really 'you' time, I guess."

I felt so bad seeing her cry that I tried to comfort her. "Hey, it's okay, Wise Girl, really. I can talk to you know, right?"

She calmed down some, but went on. "Well, really, I need to start back in your direction."

"Why?"

"I need to leave Olympus."

"Wait! Ask Aphrodite for help. After all, she helped me."

"Okay, Seaweed Brain." And she broke the connection.

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**R&R PLEASE!**


	8. Annabeth, I

**Here we go! I wonder if you can guess what the chapter name means before you read it.**

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I broke through the connection, and I realized exactly what Percy had been saying. Aphrodite had shown him the dream of my mom's and my conversation. I sent her a silent prayer of thanks, knowing that she had helped me out a lot.

I was still on Olympus, so I looked around for the goddess of love. I found her talking to Ares, but she noticed me walking in her direction and came straight towards me with a big smile.

"So, have you talked to Percy about—"

I interrupted her with a smile on my face. "Yes, I have talked to Percy, and he told me that I should ask you for help. He didn't say what you would help me with, so I assumed you would know."

"Yes," she said while nodding at me like she had the best idea in the world, "I think this might help you two out just a little bit." She snapped her fingers and I felt like the world was spinning and I was in a thin little tube that I couldn't breath in.**(A/N: Yes, this is like HP Apparition)** When I felt like I was about to burst, it stopped. I looked up and saw a little white house in the middle of nowhere, with just one road leading away toward a patch of trees.

I entered the house and looked around. It seemed like a regular abandoned place; no food or dishes or lights left on, nothing like that. I called out a few times just to make sure, but there didn't seem to be anyone here.

Then, to my surprise, I heard a voice calling out, "Hello?" I looked around and realized there was a staircase that was mostly hidden, but if a person looked, the stairs could be found and used without much trouble. I took the stairs two at a time, because I knew that voice was _very_ familiar. I came to a door, but before I could touch it, it was opened by someone on the other side.

"Wise girl?" I almost laughed. Percy was right there in front of me.

"S—seaweed brain?"

Then he kissed me.

I almost melted into his arms. I knew this was right, I knew this was the way things were supposed to be. Just me and Seaweed Brain. Together. Forever.

I didn't want this to stop, but he did, and when he looked at me he said three words that I had been waiting to hear for three years.

"Annabeth, I love you."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me over to a drawer full of drachmas in the corner of the room. After grabbing one, he took me to the bathroom sink so he could set up an IM.

"Who are we messaging?"

"My mom." Of course. We had to figure out exactly how we were going to get back to New York. But then I realized something.

"Um, she'll see that we're holding hands, won't she?"

Percy looked surprised. "Do you care?"

I shrugged. "I guess not if you don't."

"O Iris goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Sally Jackson."

When Ms. Jackson appeared in the message, she looked surprised, then noticed that we were holding hands and tried to suppress a smile(and failed at it).

"Well, what's going on here?"

"Um..." I tried to speak carefully. "I _finally_ found Percy."

She laughed when I said that. "I can tell as much. How are you two going to get back here?"

I looked at Percy, surprised. I saw that he had the same expression on his face. We had both realized that we had no idea what we were going to do.

"I don't know," Percy finally said. "Annabeth just got here—how did you get here, Annabeth?"

I sighed. "Well, after you messaged me, I went to Aphrodite to ask for help, like you had said. She snapped her fingers and sent me here, to find you."

Ms. Jackson frowned. "So you guys have no idea where you are?"

I shook my head no. "I think I know someone who does, though. Goodbye, Ms. Jackson." I broke the connection and pulled out another drachma. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me Rachel Dare."

"Rachel?" Percy had figured it out yet.

"Yes, Seaweed Brain,_ Rachel_!"

Rachel appeared in the mist in front of us. She was eating dinner... by herself... at eight thirty.

"Hey guys," she said, when she finally noticed us. "What's up?"

I replied angrily. "Where are we?"

"It doesn't matter."

"And why is that?"

"Well, look out your window."

Percy and I looked out of the window and saw a Dare Enterprises car waiting out front. The chauffeur was waving at us to come down.

I looked towards Rachel, but she was gone. "Oh gods!! That mortal girl!!"

"Wait, what does Rachel have to do with this?" Such a Seaweed Brain!

"Everything!" I ran down the stairs and Percy followed me.

"Whoa, you mean—she—the girl—"

"Yes, Seaweed Brain."

We made it outside where _that girl's_ car was waiting for us. We got in and the driver took off almost immediately. He probably had a deadline to get the car back.

"So, Rachel... she kidnapped me, put me in a boat, took me to Virginia... and now she's sent us a car that's going to take us straight back home. Why?"

"Don't ask me to look inside her head, I'm tired. Do you realize what I've been doing all day? I fought Dr. Thorn _again_, found the Hunters, faced my mom on top of Olympus, and found you, and now Rachel's sent us this car and I'm going to have to figure out why! I'm exhausted."

"Well, I could use some sleep too." He let me put my head on his shoulder, and I quickly fell asleep.

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**Okay, It's almost done, two or three chapters left. Reviewers please tell me whether or not to have Annabeth's party in the story.**

**R&R Please!**


	9. Finally Home

"Annabeth?" I heard Percy's voice, but I didn't want to wake up. I liked this. "Annabeth," he sounded worried, but there was something to it, like it was fake. "There are spiders!" _SPIDERS! _I sat up immediately, blinking the sleep away from me.

"Where? Where are they?" I looked around frantically and realized Percy was laughing silently. He had only said that so that I would wake up. I punched him in the arm.

"Hey, you know that doesn't hurt me, right?" _DANG! I forget that he's invulnerable!_

"Whatever. Are we at your house?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Percy helped my out of the car, and it was driven away. We went to the back door, because it was three o'clock in the morning, and he didn't want to wake up his mom and step-dad. When we got inside, Percy sent me into his room and went to sleep on the couch. I still needed to sleep, but my mind kept going over everything that had happened. After all, today at noon, well yesterday technically, I had been at my boarding school. In these fourteen hours I had been attacked by Dr. Thorn, talked to Thalia, gone to Olympus, been to Virginia and back, and been kissed by Percy. I was exhausted, and so I went easily to sleep.

******

I opened my eyes, and for a second I didn't know where as was, but my first hint was the slight scent of the beach, a scent I knew and loved. I looked around at the room I was in, and one thing clicked. _Percy!_ I got out of bed, still in yesterday's clothes, and realized that the suitcases I had left here yesterday were in here. _I wonder if Percy came in here and saw me sleeping..._

I grabbed some new clothes, changed, and ventured out of Percy's room. I saw Percy eating blue toaster waffles and syrup, and when he saw me, I watched his expression, wondering about what Thalia had said to me.

His face lit up like he had seen his favorite thing in the world, and I realized... I probably was. I felt a smile creeping onto my face as well.

"Hey Seaweed Brain. Didn't feel like cooking breakfast?"

He laughed. "Oh, you do not want to taste my cooking!"

I laughed with him, and then I heard a noise behind me. I whirled around, drawing my knife. It was Paul. "Oh, hi Paul." I put my knife away. "You surprised me."

He laughed. "I can tell. So, when did you two get back?"

"This morning at two-thirty." Percy answered. "We didn't want to wake you guys up, so I slept on the couch, Annabeth slept on my bed, and we woke up about... five minutes ago."

Percy smiled. "Well, I think your mom might like to know that you're back."

"Okay." Percy went into his mom's room.

"You know," Paul said, "He really likes you. He's talked about you a lot."

I blushed. "Yeah, I know." I smiled a little bit. "Do you remember, after the war, when the Empire State Building lit up blue, but we didn't come down for another hour?" He nodded. "Well, during that time, Percy... was offered immortality."

Paul looked shocked. "He didn't—" I shook my head.

"He told Zeus no. He could have provided for you and his mom for the rest of your life, mot to mention he would be a god. But... he knew how much I... we would miss him. He ended up asking for something that didn't really help him at all, but it helped so many others. He's so selfless. I don't think he knows... what everyone saw on Olympus. After they asked him. He didn't know his thoughts, but we saw... he looked at me twice, before saying no. Everyone noticed, especially my mom."

Paul sighed. "I guess I was wrong. I think he really—"

"Annabeth!" Ms. Jackson came out of her room and gave me a big hug. "I was so worried about you two. How did you get home? Percy didn't say..."

"The mortal girl sent a company car," I said coldly.

Percy had to clarify. "Rachel sent one of her dad's chauffeurs to drive us home."

I could see Ms. Jackson realize something. "Rachel—but I—she didn't say—didn't know—" She went to her room and I looked at Percy questioningly. He shrugged. He was just as clueless as I was. I looked at Paul, then put on my cap, ignoring his shock. As I neared the bedroom, I heard Ms. Jackson on her cell phone. "I didn't tell you to kidnap him... What do you mean it was the only way? Who said that? ...Aphrodite? Like the love goddess? ...So it was her idea and you did whatever she said?" I had heard all I needed to. I ran back to Percy, who was talking to Paul. I grabbed his arm and dragged him to his room, much to his and Paul's bewilderment.

"Percy, listen," I said, taking off my cap. "I just heard your mom talking to Rachel. Apparently, she asked Rachel to help her with something, and Aphrodite told Rachel that the only way to get it done was to kidnap you. Your mom didn't know about that, she was really worried about you."

"But what would my mom ask Rachel to do that Aphrodite would be interested in?"

"Well... I've been thinking about it... It might have been about us, you know? Since I hadn't talked to you..."

"So Aphrodite thought that the only way to get us back together was to _kidnap_ me? And Rachel... I would have thought she was smarter than that.

"Yeah, well apparently she wasn't!"

"I should ask my mom about this," Percy decided.

Headed out of his room. _He's cute when he's anxious!_ I didn't tell that little voice to shut up, because I knew it was the side of my that was right about Percy... every time.

When his mom and step-dad saw us, we could tell they had been having a whispered conversation. "Where have you two been?" she said, slightly accusingly, yet jokingly.

"We were in my room, talking about _something_." The way Percy said _something_ we knew she would understand that we knew.

"I'm sorry Percy, you too Anna—"

"Hey," I interrupted, "it's not your fault. _Rachel_ is the one who listened to that—" I refrained from saying stupid, I'd get killed, "—goddess of love. Rachel, or even Aphrodite, is the one to blame. And don't," I said as she opened her mouth again, "don't tell me that you asked her for help. Knowing Aphrodite, she would have suggested it sooner or later. After all, as the goddess of love she has to take care of her subjects." I looked to Percy with a smile.

"Um, yeah, what she said." I laughed,

"You're going to be saying that for as long as you know me, Seaweed Brain. Hopefully a long time." I noticed Paul look at Sally in slight wonder, but she just smiled.

"Do we have to talk to Rachel now? I've got better ideas." I smiled when Percy said this, then stood closer to intertwine my fingers with his.

"Sounds great. A movie, maybe?"

He grinned broadly. "Let's go."

******

I smiled as I removed myself from the beautiful car my dad had given me for my birthday. Did I forget to mention it? Yeah, I found out about it when I got home at the end of the summer.

I helped Annabeth out, and I was really excited. I had just gone on my first date with Annabeth. We had fun, didn't fight monsters, and just relaxed. But when we got inside, things changed.

"Okay, Seaweed Brain, down to business. Rachel."

I groaned slightly, and Annabeth noticed. "Cheer up, it'll be over soon." She pecked me on the lips, and I was almost dazed by just that, to my mom's and Paul's amusement. Annabeth dragged me towards the sink, but I stopped her.

"Wait, come this way."

Annabeth laughed. "Ooo, the Seaweed Brain has an idea!"

When we got to my room, I closed my eyes and concentrated on the water droplets in the air in front of the window. I made them catch the sunlight, and as Annabeth watched, they formed a rainbow(I hoped).

"O Iris goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering." I opened my eyes and she spoke again. "Show me Rachel Dare."

We spoke to Rachel and she told us almost exactly what we(well, Annabeth) had deducted. But Annabeth just had to ask. "Why did you listen to her? You know how she is with those things!"

"I thought it would be fun, you know?" Annabeth was about to burst, so I intervened.

"Annabeth," I said sharply, "No harm, no foul. Truce?" She was about to protest, but she saw my face and calmed down.

She and Rachel looked at each other calmly. "Truce," they said together.


End file.
